Phil Badman and Nita Williams

Meet the OPP Interns - Phil Badman & Nita Williams

Thursday, July 19, 2018

By Ali Sherretta, OPP Communications Intern

Phil Badman and Nita Williams are both going to be seniors at Penn State this fall and are majoring in energy engineering. They are both interning with Matt Leah and Jen Oliver in energy services.

Q: What made you choose to come to Penn State?

Phil: It had a lot of engineering options and at the time, I didn't know what I wanted to do so I figured I'd come here to leave my options open. It was good because I ended up changing my major to something that is fairly unique to Penn State. Most colleges don't have something like energy engineering, so I'm glad I ended up here.

Nita: Penn State was really the only place that offered my program, so here I am!

Q: How did you hear about the position you applied for?

Phil: I actually saw the job posting in a department email from Sarma Pisupati, who is our department head. I figured I would check it out.

Nita: I saw the same email and applied.

Q: Describe the main project(s) you will be working on for OPP.

Phil: We work together when we go out and do a tour or a building visit. They'll bring along all of us, so it's a learning experience. We each do have our own specialties and things we are stronger at, so they assign us work based on that.

Nita: We work within the same general stuff. Phil and I double-team on a lot of projects. For instance, when we have HVAC projects, they will direct it towards Phil because they know that it's something he's more interested in than I am. I do a lot of utility projects.

Q: Can you describe your typical work day?

Phil: I work on whatever the task is that day. Since the beginning of the summer, I'll have one project that takes me a week or so to do. I usually show up and I know what to do and what there is to work on.

Nita: We stay pretty busy. We have a lot of pre-existing projects and then every once in a while, they throw something at us that they need done quickly.

Q: What has your internship prepared you for thus far?

Phil: Being a senior who is right around the corner from graduation, the value I've gotten so far from this internship relates to job searching. My supervisors have been helping me a lot with figuring out how to speak about myself, describe the skills that I have and how they're relevant to the jobs I'm going to be applying to.

Nita: It's a lot of experience in our field. I can see some of the stuff we learn in classes has shown up, which is really neat. There's also a real-world aspect with it, like networking and seeing the different companies Phil has been introduced to. I've seen some opportunities with just talking to people in sales. For example, we had a gentleman come to us and say, "Hey, we have something that might be cool for you," and I got to talk to him for a couple weeks. He actually came in and did a demonstration. I got to research his product and learn all about it. I get to network with a lot of people inside the office, outside the office, in different meetings, and conferences. It's been really well-rounded.

Q: If you participated, talk about your experience with Special Olympics. What was the most rewarding part?

Phil: Unfortunately, I didn't get to attend any of the actual events, but from the little exposure I did have to the athletes, I was very surprised at how positive the atmosphere was. You'd think in an "Olympic" setting all the athletes would be really gung-ho and competitive with each other, but no matter how they place everyone is super supportive of each other.

Nita: It was really humbling. I got to watch them play basketball. That was a blast. I went to the Olympic Village the one night to help clean up and they were all hanging out before they went to their hotels and having a big, old party. Everybody was so kind and happy. I can't even tell you how many people came over just to say hi to me. I had one gentlemen say "It's so nice to see you.” It was sweet because I had never met this guy in my life, but it was nice to see him too. It was great. It was nice to volunteer and give them my time outside of work.

Q: After reflecting on your internship, would you recommend this experience to others?

Phil: Yes, definitely. I had another internship last summer, which was also very valuable, but what's special about this one in particular is that OPP's client is an education institution. They really put that weight on their interns, not only being productive for OPP, but also getting your own learning experience and as much personal benefit as possible. It's really a two-way street- a mutually beneficial relationship between OPP and the students.

Nita: It's really nice. All of the supervisors I've met are nice and interested in making sure we do well for ourselves, not just at our jobs, but in general. They really care. I'm learning a lot and it's a great environment.